Navigating conversations about trauma: Developing training for lawyers working with asylum seekers in the UK
Lawyers working in immigration and asylum law regularly engage with clients' traumatic experiences, including listening to accounts of violence, suffering and loss and considering visual evidence. This work takes place within an increasingly hostile political environment, where asylum seekers face lengthy application processes and difficulties accessing basic resources. These pressures, alongside the emotional demands of their work, leave lawyers vulnerable to vicarious trauma.
Despite this, existing research suggests that lawyers receive limited training on recognising and managing the impact of trauma on both themselves and their clients.
Researchers at UCL, in collaboration with the Helen Bamber Foundation, developed and piloted a clinical skills training programme to support lawyers in navigating conversations about trauma. The training consisted of a two-hour session delivered on four occasions, attended by 33 lawyers from six law firms. Interviews and questionnaires explored its feasibility, acceptability and impact on lawyers’ confidence and capacity to promote resilience and self-care.
Key themes:
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Acknowledging high stakes
Lawyers described signing up to the training due to concerns about causing harm to their clients, as well as potential harm of vicarious trauma for themselves. Many of the interviewees were particularly conscious about the risk of re-traumatising clients when having to probe the client’s account so that it stands up to scrutiny. The hostile political environment heightened their sense of responsibility towards clients, with some feeling they were their only source of support.
The training helped to validate lawyers existing practice and offered practical guidance, increasing confidence and reducing anxieties about client wellbeing.
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Personal is political:
The training also offered an opportunity for individuals to reflect on how elements of their identity, such as gender, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, personal and family experience of trauma, interact with their experiences with clients.
Whilst some interviewees found having personal experiences of migration a source of connection with clients, others found working with clients from a similar background made their work emotionally draining and potentially triggering for their own personal experience of trauma.
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Sink or Swim - “You’re kind of just chucked in.”
None of the interviewees felt that their legal training adequately prepared them for discussing traumatic events with clients.
Most participants had access to supervision and peer support, but this varied in both accessibility and in quality.
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Collective care
Lawyers who attended the training were motivated to attend to develop their connection with others within the profession and felt that sharing practice could help develop empathy, a sense of community and provide shared learning experiences.
Implications
The findings suggest that targeted, trauma-informed training can improve lawyers' confidence in navigating traumatic conversations and support more reflective client practice.
However, a single session may be insufficient to produce meaningful and long-term changes. Participants favoured longer training delivered across multiple sessions, alongside ongoing reflective practice and peer support.
The study supports further development and evaluation of trauma-informed training, including a larger-scale project involving immigration lawyers and potentially other legal professionals working with trauma-exposed clients.